2016-12-10T03:03:57ZEstimating Commodity Substitution Bias in the Irish Inflation Rate Statistics during the Financial Crisishttp://hdl.handle.net/2262/76901
Estimating Commodity Substitution Bias in the Irish Inflation Rate Statistics during the Financial Crisis
Bermingham, Colin; Coates, Dermot; O'Brien, Derry
Measures such as the Consumer Price Index are important economic indicators setting out price changes in the Irish economy over time. Such measures, however, are subject to various types of measurement bias. The latter can include Commodity Substitution Bias whereby the weights assigned to each item in a representative basket of goods and services cease to fully reflect consumer expenditure patterns over time, and particularly during a period of economic upheaval. This, in turn, can lead to the overstatement (or understatement) of inflation. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) now updates the relevant weights every year, thereby reducing the impact of this bias. In this article, we have endeavoured to estimate the size of the bias in the period leading up to the introduction of the new methodology in 2012. The results presented here indicate that the rate of inflation was slightly understated. The degree of this measurement bias was not significantly higher than that identified in other countries in which this phenomenon has been examined, albeit that in the latter countries an upward bias (or overstatement) was found.
2016-01-01T00:00:00ZSocio-economic Differentials in Male Mortality in Ireland 1984-2008http://hdl.handle.net/2262/76900
Socio-economic Differentials in Male Mortality in Ireland 1984-2008
Layte, Richard; Nolan, Anne
The presence of pronounced inequalities in mortality and life expectancy across income, education and social groups has long been a “stylized fact” of demography. Research across a large number of developed and wealthy countries, including Ireland, has shown that those with fewer resources, less education or a lower occupational class have higher standardised mortality rates (SMRs) than more advantaged individuals. The last analysis of Irish adult mortality differentials across social classes, carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and based on data for 2006, found that men in the unskilled manual social class had an SMR that was 1.8 times higher than males in the professional social class. However, little is known about how socio-economic inequalities in mortality in Ireland have changed since the mid-1990s, a period characterised by an unprecedented boom and bust in economic activity. In addition, previous analyses have made no attempt to adjust the SMRs to take account of those reporting missing or “unknown” occupation/socio-economic group (SEG). Using annual mortality data from the CSO over the period 1984-2008, a period of economic recovery and boom, this paper examines whether the general downward trend in mortality observed over this period was experienced equally by all SEGs. We find that the SMR for all groups fell between the 1980s and 2000s but that the extent of this fall was largest for Employer and Manager and Professional SEGs leading to a growing differential between these groups and all others.
2016-01-01T00:00:00ZInformal Cost of Dementia Care – A Proxy-Good Valuation in Irelandhttp://hdl.handle.net/2262/76763
Informal Cost of Dementia Care – A Proxy-Good Valuation in Ireland
Trépel, Dominic
This paper values the informal costs of dementia care in Ireland based on recently agreed national costing framework. Drawing on a survey of 270 Irish dementia caregivers, the hours of informal care per day are estimated using variables of individual characteristics, functional limitations and behavioural problems. This estimation finds that an interlinked workcohabitation effect significantly predicts the total informal care available and suggests that increasing burden on carers may alter overall welfare. Given conflict in carers’ personal priorities, this paper calculates the market value of formal services to inform equitable distribution of dementia care required. By associating “proxy-good’ market values to dementia symptoms requiring specific types of care, the per diem costs of care are estimated to range from €240.96 (early-stage) to €570.04 (late-stage). As burnout is a major risk factor in prolonged care, this paper indicates the formal value of the output of care from a public health service perspective. Policy initiatives to improve technical and allocative efficiency of formal dementia services are required to reduce reliance on informal care.
2011-01-01T00:00:00ZExploring the Steady-State Relationship Between Credit and GDP for a Small Open Economy–The Case Of Irelandhttp://hdl.handle.net/2262/76762
Exploring the Steady-State Relationship Between Credit and GDP for a Small Open Economy–The Case Of Ireland
Kelly, Robert; McQuinn, Kieran; Stuart, Rebecca
The rapid increase in credit in an economy is now commonly perceived to be one of the leading indicators of financial instability. This view has been reinforced by the aftermath of the international financial crisis, which commenced in mid-2007. A key policy response has been to focus on the ratio of private sector credit to GDP for an economy, observing, in particular, significant deviations between the actual and long-run trends of the ratio. This paper examines the issue of the steady-state relationship between private sector credit and GDP in the case of Ireland, a country which, even by international standards, experienced a sizeable expansion in credit over the past 10 years.
2011-01-01T00:00:00Z